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SciTech

New material promises superconductivity at room temp


Scientists in Germany are studying a new material that shows promise of being a superconductor of electricity at room temperature, a tech site reported this week.
 
An article on SciTechDaily.com said the scientists published their findings in the journal Advanced Materials, but cautioned the results are still tentative and need further testing.
 
“If this is accurate, then there could be huge potential energy savings since superconductors transmit electricity with zero resistance. Until now, the superconductors work at temperatures of about -110 degrees Celsius and lower,” it said.
 
The team led by Pablo Esquinazi at the University of Leipzig initially reported flakes of graphite doped with water seem to superconduct at temperatures greater than 100 degrees Celsius.
 
SciTechDaily.com said graphite can superconduct when doped with elements that give it additional free electrons.
 
It added calcium graphite superconducts at temperatures of up to 11 degrees Kelvin (-262 degrees Celsius) and theoretical physicists have predicted that temperatures of 60 degrees Kelvin (-213.15 degrees Celsius) could be reached.
 
The research team speculated high concentrations of electrons form at the interfaces between neighboring thin segments of graphite.
 
When placed in a magnetic field, the samples remained slightly magnetized after the field was removed, the report said.
 
It added this residual magnetization could be attributed by either superconductivity or ordinary ferromagnetism.
 
When they varied the strength of the field to see how the magnetization changed, the data was similar to that of the first high-temperature oxide superconductors.
 
“The results remain speculative rather than watertight since the team hasn’t been able to prove that the samples conduct electricity with zero resistance. Also, they haven’t been able to prove that magnetic fields are absent within the material itself, which is a fundamental characteristic of superconductors,” SciTechDaily.com said.
 
Up to 400 degrees Celsius?
 
Also, the team noted the samples retained their superconductivity at temperatures up to 400 degrees Celsius, the SciTechDaily.com report said.
 
It said that while a simple extrapolation of the data shows the upper limit is about 1,000 degrees, Esquinazi said superconductivity at 500 degrees may start to degrade.
 
This could alter their magnetization and make it difficult to observe the transition to a non-superconducting state, the report said. — TJD, GMA News
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